1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cancer diagnosis. More specifically, the present invention discloses methods for diagnosing disease recurrence and high stage bladder carcinoma.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many superficial tumors recur, of which some progress to become muscle invasive cancer. The treatment of bladder transitional cell carcinoma is dictated by several factors. The most clinically significant prognostic parameters for tumor recurrence and invasion of bladder cancer are grade, stage, lymphatic invasion, tumor size, carcinoma in situ, multifocality and the rate of tumor recurrence. Of these parameters, pathological stage and tumor grade are seen as most important. However, staging errors are possible. Under-staging occurs in cases of high and intermediate stage disease, of which approximately 33% are typically under-staged and 10% are typically over-staged, respectively. An ideal prognostic factor must be reliable to direct treatment decisions in individuals.
Cytologic analysis of voided urine is the most commonly used non-invasive method for detecting transitional cell carcinoma, but its utility is severely constrained by its low sensitivity.
Several potential diagnostic markers for bladder cancer have been identified, including nuclear matrix protein 22, bladder tumor antigen, and telomerase. Although these markers are more sensitive than urine cytology for detecting bladder cancer, their use is limited by low specificity. Specific genetic alterations have been implicated in the molecular pathogenesis of transitional cell carcinoma, with mutations reported in cell cycle regulatory genes, oncogenes, and tumor suppressor genes. However, it has proven difficult to use these genetic alterations as diagnostic markers of bladder cancer because of their low sensitivity.
Therefore, there is a need for a more efficient and effective method for diagnosing disease recurrence and high stage bladder carcinoma.